MUMBAI: Kartikeya Sharma’s iTVNetwork, which owns and operates sixnews channels including NewsX inEnglish and India News in Hindi, islooking to build a non-news TVnetwork in parallel.For the same, the company hasentered into a long-term strategicpartnership with BSE-listed TrilogicDigital Media Ltd (TDML), a broadcastmanagement and audiovisual contentsyndication company with interestsspanning the spectrum of TV anddigital media business.As per the deal, TDML will look afterthe operations, includingprogramming, marketing, distributionand monetisation of the soon-to-be-launched regional entertainmentchannels from iTV Network apart fromrecently launched ultra-highdefinition (UHD) channel Insight, forwhich iTV Network is a partner inIndia.TDML will bring to the table a Hindigeneral entertainment channel(Sahara One), a Hindi movie channel(Filmy), and fashion and lifestylechannel (FTV). The upcoming launchesfrom the group, a Bhojpurientertainment channel called Phulwaa(next fiscal) and a travel channel withIndia focus will also be part of thealliance, TDML MD Vishal Gurnani toldTelevisionPost.com.“We signed the strategic alliance withiTV Network earlier this month. Wewill launch and operate the non-newschannels and will also distribute thenews channels under iTV Network,”Gurnani added.When asked if iTV would take anequity stake in the company, Gurnaniclarified that currently it is a ‘long-term strategic alliance’ and anythingis possible.“There are four big broadcastingnetworks in our country. In the nextfive years, by 2020, we would like tobe the fifth one. We have theexpertise of broadcast managementand iTV brings great financial muscleand infrastructure. It is a perfectmarriage,” Gurnani opined.Incidentally, iTV network is alsolooking at entering the regionalentertainment space.TelevisionPost.com was the first toreport that after news, the workwould launch an Assamese-languagegeneral entertainment channel,tentatively named ITV Hi Life and aHaryanvi entertainment channel,likely to be named ITV AND.“It is an alignment where TDML willlook after our entertainmentchannels business, while we focus onthe news genre. We are looking at itas a long-term alliance,” iTV Networkdirector and group CFO Arun Aggarwalcommented.Gurnani, who founded TDML along withKamlesh Bhanushali (chairman of thecompany), said that the alliance wouldmake significant investments in theexisting as well as upcoming channels.“We are looking at an entertainmentnetwork with a GEC, a Hindi moviechannel, a lifestyle channel, regionalchannels and a 4K channel. Theinvestments are going to besignificant as we have ambitiousplans,” he said.However, when asked about his plansto grow Sahara One and Filmy, he saidthat the company had been runningthe channels for over two years nowfor a small annual fee. “We have along-term bulk airtime purchase anddistribution agreement (BAPADA) withSahara and are taking care of theprogramming, sales, marketing anddistribution of the channels. We aresoon going to invest in Filmy, whichenjoys brand equity but currentlyrunning on a library catalogue,”Gurnani claimed. “We will startinvesting in content for both thechannels. FTV anyway is No. 1 in thelifestyle genre.”Partnership for iConcertTo expand the bouquet, the alliancehas entered into a partnership withbroadcast industry veteran YogeshRadhakrishnan. Together, they willlaunch iConcert, an international liveconcert channel.Radhakrishnan has been working onthe idea for some time now, and thechannel will be launched incooperation with the iTV-TDMLalliance by the end of this year.Gurnani also confirmed that TDML is intalks to acquire a Hindi music channel.http://www.televisionpost.com/television...v-network/